has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted...'"–Babylonian Talmud: (Sanhedrin 98b) "Another explanation (of Ruth ii.14): -- He is speaking of king Messiah; `Come hither,' draw near to the throne; `and eat of the bread,' that is, the bread of the kingdom; `and dip thy morsel in the vinegar,' this refers to his chastisements, as it is said, `But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities'".–Midrash Ruth Rabbah Modern Judaism The modern Jewish interpretation of through describes the servant of the as the Nation of Israel itself: "My servant..." (), "... a man of pains and accustomed to illness ... " (). "The theme of Isaiah is jubilation, a song of celebration at the imminent end of the Babylonian Captivity". Christian interpretation Christians traditionally see the servant as Jesus Christ. The songs are quoted to and applied to Jesus multiple times in the New Testament, as described in following sections. Another Christian interpretation combines aspects of the traditional Christian and the Jewish interpretation. This position sees the servant as an example of 'corporate personality', where an individual can represent a group, and vice versa. Thus, in this case, the servant corresponds to Israel, yet at the same time corresponds to an individual (that is, the Messiah) who represents Israel. The first song The first poem has God speaking of his selection of the servant who will bring justice to earth. Here the servant is described as God's agent of justice, a king who brings justice in both royal and prophetic roles, yet justice is established neither by proclamation nor by force. He does not ecstatically announce salvation in the marketplace as prophets were bound to do, but instead moves quietly and confidently to establish right religion (Isaiah 42:1-4). The first four verses are quoted in Matthew's gospel, where it is said that the prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus' withdrawal from the cities of Galilee and his request that the crowds do not make him known. The second song The second poem, written from the servant's point of view, is an account of his prenatal calling by God to lead both Israel and the nations. The servant is now portrayed as the prophet of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God. Yet, anticipating the fourth song, he is without success. Taken with